Tag: Ruben Israel

A legal team that has gone to court in the past to protect Christians at Arab events in Dearborn, Mich., is returning to the fray, this time taking on the local sheriff’s department over a decision by officers to threaten Christians with disorderly conduct while angry Muslims were heaving chunks of concrete, stones, bottles and debris at them.

It happened at the 2012 Arab International festival on Father’s Day weekend, and a video of the attacks has gone viral on the Internet.

There, an angry mob of Arabs chanting “Allahu Akbar” is seen throwing concrete and eggs at the Christians who were holding signs about their faith.

Officials with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, however, stood idly by during the attacks and then threatened the Christians with arrest if they did not leave, after a leader of the Christian group asked that officers enforce the law.

Now that Christian leader, Ruben Israel, has begun working with the American Freedom Law Center on a challenge to the police actions.

The AFLC reports that Israel “asked the law enforcement officers present to step in and enforce the criminal law so that the Christians could exercise their right to freedom of speech,” but was “given the option of either leaving the festival or facing arrest.”

WND reported earlier that a video reveals that the crowd – reminiscent of a rock-throwing “intifada” scene from the Middle East – hurled a dizzying barrage of objects at the Christians standing passively with their signs, causing some injuries.

WND later learned that the Christian crowd had been carrying a pole with a pig’s head attached to the top, further angering the Muslim crowd. At the beginning of the video, Christian street preachers shout, “God is good, and God is not Allah!”

Police approached Israel, of OfficialStreetPreachers.com, warning him, “The city of Dearborn has an ordinance, OK, that you guys can’t use the megaphone. So, if you guys continue to use that, you will get a citation.”

Israel noted that the group was allowed to use the megaphone in 2011. Then he asked the officer, “So, if we don’t use a megaphone, can we throw water bottles at the crowd?”

The officer shook his head no.

“So what are you going to do if they throw water bottles at us?” Israel asked.

“If that happens, we will take care of that and address it,” the officer promised.